Does your brand have an identity?

Your brand identity represents not only all that your company has to offer but the values that it holds dear. Just like your personal identity, your brand identity is what separates you from everyone else out there, and your website provides you with a huge opportunity to share it! For this reason, bespoke web design is a must to ensure that you’re accurately representing all that you have to offer.

Many people interchange terms such as ‘brand’, ‘branding’ and ‘brand identity’, but it’s important to know the difference. Here’s a quick summary:

Brand – the way your company is perceived by everyone else

Branding – the marketing practice involved in shaping a brand

Brand identity – the collection of all visual elements to portray the right image to the customer

With the majority of today’s consumers turning to the internet for answers, it’s vital that your company is there to portray the right message.

The benefits of a strong visual brand identity

So, you might have a brand identity but is it one that customers will remember? Ideally, you’ll want to make sure your customers remember your brand’s history, values and vision. This is something that’s usually demonstrated through the visual components and features on your website. Therefore, you need to make sure that your website both complements your brand and communicates the right message in a way that is memorable. You can do this by incorporating certain principles into your web design. Read on.

Choose the right images

Stock images look fake, out of touch and clichéd. Avoid stock images and instead, find images that really convey the sentiment of your brand. Some of the most successful companies will include headshots of the team and photos of customers interacting with your brand. Creating your own photos will allow you to choose colours that harmonise with your brand, rather than stock photos, which can provide an incohesive contrast.

Make your logo the star of the show

As the face of your brand – although only part of the story – your logo should be given centre stage on your website. Make sure that it stands out from its surroundings, is high quality and instantly recognisable to your customers. When someone visits your website, their eyes should move directly to your logo.

Highlight your calls-to-action

Many people underestimate just how important it is to encourage customers to click. Highlighting a call-to-action on every page can generate a huge amount of leads but, just like your logo, you need to ensure these are free from any clutter. Use colours, fonts and shapes that match your brand but also stand out from the rest of the page and draw the eye.

Focus on your core message

While we’re not suggesting that your website be a cluttered minefield of information, images and call-to-actions, we do suggest you take the focus off the aesthetics of your website and think more about your company’s core message. Ensuring this is coming across in the clearest way possible may mean that you’ll have to simplify your design, make more room for white space, and forego your favourite colours and fonts for something that suits the overall tone. Your website is the main place where your customers will view your brand, so consistency is incredibly important.

Don’t copy your competitors

A lot of web design companies are approached by customers who simply point to a competitor and ask for a similar website. This can be incredibly detrimental to your overall brand as it takes away any uniqueness you might have built up in your branding efforts. Copying a competitor essentially means that you are inadvertently supporting their brand instead of developing your own!

As a company, you should never underestimate the importance of your website to convert users to customers and then, in time, loyal followers of your brand. By keeping your brand identity in mind, your website should clearly convey your core values and allow your customers to connect with you on an emotional level, encouraging them to make that all-important click.

If you feel as though you’re not currently maximising your website’s potential, perhaps you need to consider a fresh, new design. At Boson Web, we have a team of specialist web developers on hand to help you design a site that’s perfect for your brand. Helping you discover what makes you unique and then how to tell your customers.